Training and education are both different facets of learning.

At first, it may b
e difficult to tell the difference between them, especially in today s school syst
em, but there are major differences in training and education. Their purpose, hi
story, and methodology are all vastly different.
Purpose
Training
is undertaken in the hopes of gaining a specific skill. Generally this s
kill will make you more employable. These skills can be manual:
Plumbing
Carpentry
Weaving
or mental:
Computer Programming
Accounting
Marketing
Education
is undertaken in the hopes of furthering your individual knowledge and
developing your intellect. While a highly educated person is often more employab
le, education is not about getting a job.
History
Training
was originally practiced through guilds. Youngsters would be apprenticed
to a master baker or builder and work under him in order to learn his trade. Th
is was considered the proper method of learning for the lower and middle classes
.
Education
has its origins in the medieval university system. Young men from wealt
hy families would complete a course in theology or philosophy before studying hi
s chosen profession. The theory of education also played a large role in the con
cept of the Renaissance man.

Methodology
Training
is usually done through specialized courses and textbooks. The learning
can often be done by rote and textbooks are very prescriptive. While independent
thinking at a micro level is encouraged, revolutionary innovation is often look
ed down on. Training generally comes in a course; when the course is completed,
the training is done.
Education
is a lifelong process. Most educational learning is done through real b
ooks, rather than textbooks. The learner is encouraged to think and write about
what he is reading. Any point is open to discussion and the only right answers a
re those that can be found in the text.
In today s school systems, the line between education and training
e indeed. Especially at the collegiate level, many areas of mental
being passed off as education. Programming, for instance, requires
nd specialized skill set and needs years of training. However, its
employment rather than self-improvement.

can be very fin

training are
a difficult a
end result is

Summary:
1. Education focuses on creating lifelong independent thinkers whereas training
focuses on skills sought after by employers.
2. Training has its roots in the guild system while education s origins lie in uni
versities.
3. Training uses textbooks and prescriptive methods.
4. In today s universities highly specialized areas of training are being passed o
ff as education.

Learning vs. Training

Education is all about learning the theory. Traditionally, an education may rein
force knowledge in which that you already have a foundation.
For example, when you re at school, you may already have command of the English la
nguage, but you still learn English.
Other subjects may be taught to you from scratch, but it is the theory that you
learn. In Physics, you learn about splitting the atom, but you don t do it.
It is for this reason that the traditional professions like Accountancy, Law and
Medicine require a period of further practical training after academic studies
are complete.
And that s where training differs; training gives you
ather than just know about something. Training can be
r vocation or your skills-gap. It is there for people
w system, improve a specific ability or further their

the skills to do something r

specific to your need, you
who want to implement a ne
ability in something.

That s not to say education has no place - lawyers must understand the principles
of law before they learn to deploy it and a surgeon must have a detailed knowled
ge of anatomy before they pick up the scalpel. But what is it you re looking for that foundation upon which to build or the skills you want to develop?
Consider the following when you re looking to take a course:
Learning
Are you looking for a course in a foundation subject?
Do you want to gain qualifications you missed out on at school?
Would you tend to find the type of course you re looking for traditionally in an e
ducational institution?
Training
Are you looking to learn a specific skill for work?
Do you want to apply the knowledge you gain practically?
Would you tend to find the type of course you re looking for traditionally in a co
mmercial setting?
The landscape of learning and training has advanced greatly since the 80s, as mo
re universal access to education and training has become available, particularly
through eLearning.
Learning and Training in the Digital Age
Distance learning is not a new idea, indeed by 1890, there were more people in t
he US undertaking Correspondence Courses than there were students in the undergr
aduate system. Today, online training and education is a huge market, with red b
rick and traditional collegiate universities offering online degrees and charter
ed societies recognising the value of giving electronic access to qualifications
, resulting in its rivaling in popularity of the traditional correspondence cour
se model.
Although initially the privilege of large corporations with enormous resources o
ff the back of long negotiations and development, quality off-the-shelf online t
raining is now available immediately and to everyone, with skills covering manag
ement, health and safety, accountancy, communication and more.
It is as a result of this accessibility and ubiquitousness that, today, some adv

ocate dropping the e in eLearning, saying that it is a symbol of a by-gone era. Th

is may be true as more and more learning now takes place in one digital form or
another.
But the eLearning industry is continuing to grow. Globally, predictions for the
total value of the industry in the next couple of years ranges from $51bn (30bn)
to $107bn (64bn) as a response to the increasing demand for immediately accessibl
e, quality training.
So it s here to stay for the foreseeable future. What is key, though, is that eLea
rning has become an umbrella term used in schools, colleges and universities as
much as it is in businesses. Whether you want to swot-up on your Latin and Philo
sophy or train for your ACCA exams, learn or train, eLearning has it covered so
perhaps it s not quite time to retire the term.